In spite of second-guessing by speculators, Albert Einstein’s work has stood up pretty well since his general and special theories of relativity were published more than a century ago. For instance, matter and energy are proven to be different forms of the same thing. Nor does anybody of repute now question the equivalence of space and time.

As a matter of fact, scientific literature now reflects the unities illuminated by Einstein in the conjoined phrases (with or without hyphens) “matter-energy” and “space-time.” Of course, astrologers and some others knew all that a long time ago — along with some other conjoined words that will be used further on in this piece.

Now, and only in this century, science is building on what Einstein revealed, thereby demonstrating some things he wasn’t sure of. This is especially true of the concept known as “entanglement” (what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance”).

Basically, entanglement tells us that there is in fact no separation. Compartmentalization is out. Oneness is in. To paraphrase T.S. Eliot, all of space-time is in fact present. As any astrologer (or quantum physicist) would tell you, however, reality is not a spectator sport. The observer (you) is-are the party who determines what’s what (“is-are”? Think oneness). In other words, perception is reality for all practical purposes even if it flies in the face of fact.

Hence, as astrologers have long told those they serve, neither astrology nor demonstrably correlated tangible realities simply happen. Both astrology and reality are made to happen. Furthermore, both are the result of collaboration. Not only are we all in this (whatever it is) together, we in fact have made it together — for better or worse, just as in often-said marriage vows. For in a very real sense we are all already married, by choice no less — and divorce may not even be an option. It is, however, an option to distinguish yourself as you see fit.

Each human being (at least) has that highest form of instinct called conscience. Deep down inside, you know the difference between what’s wrong and what’s right for you-me, us-them, here-there and then-now. While conscience can (as with many other realities) be denied, it will never go away completely. It will keep nagging at you, either consciously or unconsciously.

Indeed, the nagging of your conscience could well be at the root of a great deal more than any of us realize. For that reason alone you might as well go ahead and ‘have’ (as in admit and integrate) a conscience, and use it.

Among other purposes, conscience may be used to distinguish yourself even as all about you have lost their heads and all reality contained within them. That’s an important consideration now. Perhaps as never before in human history it is now vital to heed your individual conscience for the sake of our collective reality now being symbolically demonstrated in astrology.

Find out what the Mars retrograde will mean for you in Eric’s 2016 Spring Reading. You may pre-order all 12 signs here for less than $40. Includes video readings!

Mars, for instance, is practically stationary from our perspective on Earth as its retrograde on April 17 waxes nigh.

As astrologer Steven Forrest recently put it, any planet at station is liable to be especially strong in its worldly correlations. As Robert Hand stated in his book Planets In Transit, the earthy expression of Mars is that it “is an energy planet.”

Of course, Mars is not the only energy planet. Uranus, which is being conjoined by the Sun (consciousness) this weekend, represents an energy on the collective level in a manner equivalent to what Mars is on the more personal level. Additionally, Pluto (which stations retrograde on April 18 for most of you reading this) has its own “spooky action” correspondence to energy in your life.

That’s how this moment can be defined as an energetic one. It’s also how you can be distinguished by what you do with your energy, for better or worse, on behalf of us all.

So when you feel energy coming on, remember it is the equivalent of matter in that it matters what you do with it. There is no separation. Just as surely as your energy (however your conscience tells you to express it) can serve to injure us all, it can also serve to heal us all. It’s your choice. It’s your conscience, because (not in spite of) how connected we all are.

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“It’s the promise of life. It’s the joy in your heart.”
— Antonio Carlos Jobim

As if washed downstream by Jobim’s fanciful “Waters of March,” Venus departs Pisces and enters Aries shortly after 12:50 pm EDT (16:50:25 UTC) today. Less than seven hours later Mercury leaves Aries behind and enters Taurus, where it will remain until June 12 because of its upcoming retrograde.

With its ingress to Aries, Venus will emulate the Sun at last month’s vernal equinox. This renewal of the zodiac cycle of signs will carry extra poignancy for Venus this year because, during Thursday’s Aries New Moon, it will return to within a degree of its first 2015 conjunction with Mars.

For some of you, the merger of Venus with Mars in the second degree of Aries on Feb. 22 of last year may feel like only yesterday. Others of you will feel that a lot of water has gone under your life’s bridge since that time.

Regardless of your perception of the time elapsed, it is now true that Venus has returned to start over. Since Aries is ruled by Mars (which is currently lagging behind in Sagittarius), Venus is not exactly in its element there. Nonetheless, given the fact that Venus and Mars complement (as in “complete”) each other, it’s a meaningful place for Venus to be. On several levels, you might say it’s a starting over for how Venus works in your life.

In many ways, Venus really is the promise of life and the joy in your heart. That’s why the idea of starting over after a weekend initiated by April Fools’ Day has so much appeal. You can begin again by reconstructing yourself as consciously compassionate rather than reflexively compassionate. You can endeavor to evolve from being merely gracious to being truly graceful. If you need an example of the potential upside held by the traversal beginning today, you need look no farther than Abraham Lincoln, who was born with Venus in Aries.

Mercury’s subsequent ingress to Taurus shortly after 7:09 pm EDT (23:09:11 UTC) today is at least as significant as Venus starting over. Taurus is a fixed earth sign ruled by Venus. The combination of its element, quality and ruler confers upon Taurus an intimate association with the miracle of biological life.

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What could be more of a wonder than the stuff of mud become animate? Of all the improbabilities in the universe, what could be more astounding than the promise that every day of living brings?

Where else but in a living heart can joy even be known?

That’s the upside of a long and winding tenure for intellectual yet versatile Mercury in Taurus. It’s the potential to know in your mind — and express with your mind — what your body simply yet profoundly understands.

It’s a chance to reach a beach downstream from March and ground yourself in the fact that reality as a living biological being can indeed (in deed?) with all its challenges be the single thing most envied by even the Divine.

While you may have had a misadventure or two rolling downstream during the last month (or even the last year), there is no denying the fact that you have arrived here now. Based on the premise that what’s above corresponds to what’s below, that’s good news — but not conferred. It’s good news to be made. It’s good news to be found. If ever there were a good day to get started with the making and finding, Mercury and Venus say it’s today.

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“Who’s the more foolish…the fool, or the fool who follows him?”
— Obi Wan Kenobi

It would be easy to conclude that April Fools’ Day is not the same anymore. Not when so many politicians and others of cultural authority are seemingly doing their best to outperform even the most creative satire with the conduct of both their public and private lives.

All, is not lost, however. April Fools’ Day can still be saved. Referring to Obi Wan once again (this time in paraphrase), the nature of foolishness depends greatly on one’s point of view.

There is, for example, a point of view that cannot lighten up. Perhaps the most perfect current case of taking things too seriously is represented by the official news agency of China’s communist party. Earlier today the Xinhua News Agency admonished its readers to ignore April Fools’ Day because it “does not conform to Chinese cultural tradition or `socialist core values’.”

Oh please. What can be more foolish than the assumption that human beings in China are any different from people anywhere else when it comes to having (or making) fun? Indeed, the tradition of April Fools’ is demonstrably both ancient and pan-cultural. Therein, however, is also the rub. At least some of us have an unpleasant memory of being the butt of an April Fools’ Day joke. There is no joy in being mocked. There is, however, some potential for liberation available to anybody who can shift their point of view and not take themselves quite so seriously, if only for a day.

As a matter of fact, the willingness to laugh at yourself could very well be an important turning point of how you view your life. Consider, for instance, the tarot card that portrays “The Fool.” One way of interpreting “The Fool” is that it represents both the beginning and the end of a symbolic cycle. It is as if to say that being a gullible, laughable initiate is both the prerequisite to and ultimate objective of being part of a life’s continuum.

Astrology also has cycles. The Moon orbits Earth, continuously moving through its phases. The Earth, in turn, circles the Sun, constantly repeating the seasons. Then, from our point of view here on Earth, every other object in the solar system also moves through cycles of their own which, in relation to each other, emulate how the Sun and Moon appear to move in relation to each other. First they come together. Then, they move through a predictable order of separation, then closure. Finally, they come together to begin again.

Find out what the Mars retrograde will mean for you in Eric’s 2016 Spring Reading, which we’ll publish in mid-April. This is a comprehensive 12-sign reading; you may pre-order all 12 signs here.

From astrology’s point of view, a number of cycles are even now closing towards the point where they must begin again. Since you are undeniably part of the solar system, it stands to reason that your life’s cycles might very well be doing something of the same.

All of which may explain how any situations you are facing now could simply be a sign that you are approaching an appropriate time to initiate some renewal of your own.

If there is anything to the tarot’s representation of cycle, starting over might well require you to reclaim and embrace your own fool. Doing so might include recognizing the part of you that clings to what no longer serves to continue your life productively. One could certainly also make a case for how being defensive and taking offense merely serve to burden you unnecessarily, preventing you from moving on.

Hence, if you are fortunate enough to be the object of a harmless prank today, laugh and be grateful for being able to experience it. If no such good luck should befall you, take it upon yourself to lighten up, and not just for today. Endeavor to catch yourself when you are at your most serious and consider whether there might be another point of view that will refresh your perspective, and even set you free.

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Today’s reality was but one of many possibilities a year ago. The closer we got to today, the more the possibilities narrowed down, until one reality emerged. Whether you know or want to admit it, you participated in the process. On the whole, it’s more empowering to participate with awareness.

Properly employed, astrology contributes to your consciousness awareness, and thus to your empowerment. In fact, one big picture implication of the astrology going on now is that there has seldom been any time like the present to stand in your power to influence the process of emergence.

Broadly speaking, next year’s reality will probably emerge in two ways. The first way will result from relatively small groups of like-minded people working in passionate cooperation to produce a reality which is greater than the sum of its parts.

Another way the reality of the near future will be determined is by individuals of conscience emerging from the background of the group to set an example for others to follow (or not). You could be one of those conscientious individuals if you have the courage to think for yourself, if and/or when all about you become somehow thought-less. It may also be your cue to emerge from the herd if and/or when the values you hold most dear get trampled by some form of stampede.

Among other things, Mercury represents thought and Venus correlates with values. Even now, Mercury is emerging from a relatively long period on the other side of the Sun to become visible in the West. Now that its long tenure in the pre-dawn sky is coming to a close, Venus is soon to follow in Mercury’s footsteps. Both Venus and Mercury are also moving relatively fast for the time being.

Implicitly, then, the near future is even now beginning to emerge in the minds of those who can first think independently and then follow up by remaining true to themselves. You can be one of those people, but not by being a mindless follower. You will need to practice some critical thinking, but not for the purpose of criticizing others. Rather, with the objective of carefully examining your own thoughts and values to sort what is truly yours from the hand-me downs which keep the real you from emerging in the world.

Two (or more) heads, however, are nearly always better than one. The one single factor that allowed human beings to emerge from our tentative origins is an unmatched proficiency for cooperation in depth. History’s most fruitful and significant collaborations have emerged when people of like mind and values collaborate with both passion and a commonly defined conscious objective.

Find out what the Mars retrograde will mean for you in Eric’s 2016 Spring Reading, which we’ll publish in mid-April. You may pre-order all 12 signs here for less than $40.

Among other things, Mars represents passion and Saturn corresponds with definition. Interestingly, Earth is now the process of moving between both Mars and Saturn, and the Sun, which (among other things) correlates with consciousness.

Currently, the motion of the Earth with Mars and Saturn on the outside and the Sun inside/center is resulting in retrogrades for both Saturn (starting last week) and Mars (starting in about three weeks). Additionally, those retrogrades will culminate in oppositions (exact alignments) from the Sun to both Mars and Saturn (with Earth in between) between late May and early June. In other words, there is time to align yourself.

Implicitly, there is time for you to apply some critical thinking to your thinking, although Mercury’s impending re-appearance on a new horizon indicates that should be your first priority. There is also even more time to figure out what matters most to you so that you will know if and/or when to draw the line with any group with whom you do share a like mind.

Additionally, there is plenty of time to pool your mind with other like thinkers, and follow up by collaborating with the passion necessary to get anything actually done. Finally there will at least five months (the length of Saturn’s retrograde), and probably more for you and your collaborators to begin manifesting next year’s reality in your own collective image.

Time therefore is not an issue. Nothing needs to be done tomorrow. The issue is whether you will avail yourself of the awareness the sky is offering, and empower yourself to consciously participate in creating a future reality from all of the possibilities which still exist now. Based on the fact that the Moon (which, among other things, is the stuff of dreams) is in fiery Sagittarius with both Mars and Saturn today, there is no time like the present to get started.

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I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

— J.R.R Tolkien, from The Fellowship of the Ring

These are not easy times, as today’s tragedies in Belgium remind us yet again. As often as not, public events raise weighty private concerns. Frequently, living through and coping with those concerns feels like anything but a heroic and triumphant journey worthy of story and song.

Even so, there will be other people and other times to follow your life. From their perspective, sometime in the future, what you are living through now will not provoke the fear or uncertainty you may now feel.

What people unborn will perceive of your times is the choices you and others make, and how those actions influence the nature of times and lives yet to come. Admittedly, there is little comfort contemplating posterity during trying times. It is entirely appropriate to be involved with what is happening to you now.

You need to eat. Your wellbeing requires adequate shelter and clothing. In all probability, there are also others depending on you to do your part in order to get their needs met.

Yet, it is part of being human to understand that cause and effect is just as much a long-term as it is a short-term phenomenon. With that understanding, you have the means to rise above the times given to you and transcend your immediate concerns. That is no small thing. While we cannot be certain, it is at least possible that only humans who are actively ‘being’ can consciously conceive of, and work to create, times that represent an improvement on what has landed in your lap.

Creating tomorrow is no abstraction. In one way or another you do it every day. Admittedly, nobody changes the world by themselves. The result of your life is a collective and cumulative thing. There is no doubt, however, that you do your part. What is in question is whether your part will be done in conscious awareness and with conscience.

As regards to long-term consequences, the most crucial choices are often matters of timing. It is not only your daily routine that adds up to determine what those in the future will find in their laps. Indeed, the actions that usually serve as turning points are those taken when you are faced with an unexpected or inconvenient situation. Given the astrology concurrent with this moment in your life, your most important choices may involve whether or not to abandon your routine and respond to something out of the ordinary.

The astrology now is anything but ordinary. Observing comparable examples of exceptional astrology in the past, and correlating those examples with events taking place at the present time, often reveals that extraordinary astrology corresponds with extraordinary circumstances. It’s an indication that people at any given time are indeed part of something more than just their life and times.

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Of course, anything out of the ordinary can seem like nothing more than a pain in the neck at first, especially when your hands are full already.

With hindsight, however, unusual moments often prove to represent a chance to pick your spot and make it count for more than usual. Among the more specific implications of the approaching lunar eclipse and Libra Full Moon tomorrow is that timing will be crucial. In order to see an applicable situation, be alert for anything happening that seems like bad timing for you — at least on the surface.

If you catch yourself saying something like, “Oh no, I don’t have time for that right now,” let that be your cue to look again. What you see may be a more important moment than usual. What you do, especially if it requires you to change your plans against your wishes, could very well make more difference than you can foresee.

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In 1854, Henry David Thoreau published a reflection on his experience while living alone in a cabin on Walden Pond in Massachusetts. Although his time at Walden was over two years, Thoreau used the annual cycle of Earth’s seasons to structure his account.

As Saturday segues into Sunday for most of you reading this, the cycle of seasons will renew again with the vernal equinox, when Sun enters Aries just after 12:30 am EDT (04:30:07 UTC) on Sunday. In the case of this year’s renewal, it would be especially appropriate to draw upon Thoreau’s meditations to observe the occasion.

Foremost among Thoreau’s musings to take as your inspiration this equinox is his famous admonition to simplify.

That’s because the astrology surrounding this Vernal Equinox is complicated enough to confound all but the most proficient astrologers. There is no doubt that those complexities are reflected by the often bewildering state of affairs in the world at large at this time. It is even distinctly possible that your own life at the moment is more than a little perplexing.

What better way, then, to participate with the Sun’s initiation of another cycle around the zodiac than to do so simply? With the occasion of St. Patrick’s Day and its frivolities now behind you, a change of pace might be just what the cosmic doctor ordered.

To set a sustainable pattern for the next 12 months, you might want to consider spending Saturday evening quietly, reflecting on the miraculous combination of factors that make Earth’s season’s possible. The Earth spins on its axis. That rotation is stabilized by the Moon orbiting Earth at just the right distance. Together the Earth and Moon orbit the Sun, also at just the right distance.

At one point in its orbit, the northern pole of Earth’s axis tilts directly toward the Sun during the Cancer solstice, precisely as the symbolic Sun is entering the sign Cancer. Six months later, on the opposite side of its orbit, and with Earth’s southern pole tilted toward the Sun, comes the Capricorn solstice and the simultaneous beginning of solar Capricorn.

Precisely in between the solstices, when neither pole is inclined toward the Sun, come two times of equinox. One such occasion is in September, just as the Sun enters Libra. The vernal occasion, the renewal of all earthly things, comes every March.

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With every equinox, the Sun is observed to be directly overhead at Earth’s equator.

Furthermore, no matter where in the world you are, the length of your day will be equal to that of any and everybody else. Equator, equal, equinox — it is so simple, yet without comparison anywhere else in the universe that we know of. If such a time is not worthy of a similarly simple yet solemn observance, what is?

You may choose to experience this weekend’s equinox in solitude, like Thoreau. You might instead elect to spend the miraculous transition to another season in the company of others. Whatever your preference, at least consider taking some of the time in as simple a fashion as possible, if for no other reason than to remind yourself that breathtaking awe need not always be accompanied by shocking confusion.

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